Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.44.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $44.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 2.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.45 and its 200-day moving average is $42.85. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $24.22 and a 1 year high of $60.60.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $2.07. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.76% and a return on equity of 34.68%. The firm had revenue of $170.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.65 million. Equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $204,606.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 540,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,627,126.80. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.73, for a total value of $1,462,553.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,689,477.33. This trade represents a 28.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,532 shares of company stock valued at $3,665,786 in the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.